Monique Pryor Age: 39Hometown: West Orange, N.J.Connection to your Teammate: FriendCurrent Occupation: Mom/AttorneyPet peeve about your teammate: She will go to great lengths for a bargainFavorite Hobbies: Going to the spa, dancing with friends and spinningAchievements: Having my kids and passing the New York BarLifelong To Do List: Travel the worldIf I could switch places with someone: I wouldn't. I'm very content with my life.Role Model/Hero: Suze Orman, Tina TurnerWhat are you passionate about? Empowering womenWhat would you do if you won the million dollars? Buy my husband a membership to a golf club and save for my kids' educationPeople would be surprised to learn: I love to travel, but I get nervous during turbulenceFavorite place you have ever visited: Nairobi, Kenya (the Masai Mara)Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on the Race together: Following each others leadWhat do you hope to accomplish by running the Race (other than winning one million bucks)? Pushing myself beyond my physical and mental limitations

Shawne Morgan Age: 39Hometown: Bowie, Md.Connection to your Teammate: FriendCurrent Occupation: Mom/AttorneyPet peeve about your teammate: When she says Im acting like her momFavorite Hobbies: Traveling, connecting with other women looking to grow a business and living life to the fullestAchievements: My growing relationship with God, passing the New York Bar exam, giving birth to my kids, marrying my husband, creating a successful wellness business and helping others earn additional incomeLifelong to do List: Raise my kids to be dynamic, kind and inspiring individuals, create generational wealth and visit every continent with my husbandIf I could switch places with someone: Michelle Obama Role Model/Hero: Marian Wright Edelman (champion for Children's rights)What are you passionate about? My family, becoming a better person, creating generational wealthWhat would you do if you won the million dollars? Pay off my law school debt, help my grandparents and invest in real estatePeople would be surprised to learn: I'm uncomfortable with too much attention on meFavorite place you have ever visited: Salvador, BahiaBiggest challenge you and your teammate will face on the Race together: Knowing when to move on to the next challengeWhat do you hope to accomplish by running the Race (other than winning one million bucks)? Pushing myself to another level and to help other moms/women step out of the box and take risks

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'No matter how ingrained reality television shows have become in popular culture, the reality is that it's still pretty hard to get a spot on one.

Just ask Bowie resident Shawne Morgan. The first two times she tried to get on "The Amazing Race," she didn't make it.

But her persistence paid off: Morgan did finally make it on the show with her friend Monique Pryor, beating out tens of thousands of other applicants from around the country for one of the 11 coveted team spots.

They'll be in this year's Amazing Race, which premieres Feb. 14 on CBS. Morgan said she is planning a Bowie watch party with family and friends at Buffalo Wild Wings on Martin Luther King Jr. Highway.

The show is about teams of two that compete at different staged contests around the world. For instance, one team had to travel by taxi in Vietnam to find the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater in Ho Chi Minh City. The winning team reaps $1 million dollars.

Morgan said she was happy that all the attempts she and Pryor made to get on the show were not in vain.

"I'm glad, actually, that it happened when it did, because it gave us more time to prepare ourselves and our families," Morgan said.

Neither Morgan nor Pryor, both 39 years old, are permitted to discuss what happened during filming of this year's season until all episodes have aired, according to a CBS spokesperson. In order to ensure Morgan and Pryor abided by the rule, a spokesperson listened in to the Star's interview.

Morgan, who lives in Bowie with her husband Clif, 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son, grew up in Chesapeake, Va. She received her degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland in College Park.

There, Morgan and Pryor were members of the same sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha; later on, they became good friends during a study-abroad program in Nairobi.

"We were drawn to one another," Pryor said. "She became one of my closest friends."

Both women eventually became lawyers. Today, Morgan still practices law part-time and also runs It's Yours!, a home-based company that sells hair supplies. Pryor, who lives in West Orange, N.J. with husband Eric, 7-year-old Mecca and 4-year-old Micah, works as a university fundraiser. She also runs Moms Extraordinaire, an online magazine for working mothers.

Morgan's husband said he supported his wife's participation in the race and wasn't surprised to learn she'd made the show.

"She was so confident that it was going to happen at some point," Clif Morgan said. "When she sets her mind on something, she usually achieves her goals."

Pryor said she is a long-time fan of "The Amazing Race" and eventually asked Morgan if she was interested in submitting an application to compete on the show.

"Shawne and I had promised one another that we'd travel the world together," Pryor said. "We wanted to do something for ourselves."

Two years ago, the two women began the application process. Their first introductory video was filmed at a Burger King off the New Jersey Turnpike. Amazing Race staff got the tape and called the duo; it turned out the tape had poor audio, and staff eventually chose other contestants. They missed the application date the second time because Morgan was sick.

At last, in January 2009, the women put together another application video, which included footage of the women wearing evening gowns at a presidential inauguration party. This time, "The Amazing Race" staff invited them out to Los Angeles, and the women ended up making the cut.

"All of our kids watch the show," Morgan said. "They were excited about seeing the show, watching it every week."

Morgan and Pryor said they prepared for the competition with lots of work-outs. Although both women knew how to swim, they took additional lessons so they'd be ready for any unexpected water adventures.

They also made a pact before starting the competition.

"We were not going to cry at the same time, we cannot," Morgan said. "We have to show the girl power, especially for our kids. You can't cry."

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Amazing-Races-Monique-1015542.aspxAmazing Race's Monique and Shawne: We Hated "That Stupid Wooden Horse"Monique Pryor and Shawne Morgan are "mompreneurs," but cowgirls and polo players they are not. The lawyers, both 39, became the third team booted from The Amazing Race after encountering problems at both the lassoing Roadblock and the wooden-horse polo Detour. "It took awhile, but we were determined to get through it," Shawne tells TVGuide.com. "Our thing was that we weren't leaving until we finished. We didn't care if the sun went down. Phil was going to have to drag us off that field!" Find out why it was important for them to complete the leg, why they didn't change Detours earlier and more.

TVGuide.com: How hard was it to lasso that hay, Shawne?Shawne: The hardest part was that it required so much upper body strength, and my arms were just so tired. But we were so determined  we were not leaving there without roping it! Those lassos were very heavy. There was a metal ring on it. I was doing something I'm not typically doing on a regular basis, so even after a couple of tries, my arms started hurting.

Amazing Race's Jody and Shannon: Don't blame the cow for our exit

TVGuide.com: Did you know that Brent and Caite were the last ones to arrive to the Roadblock? What were you thinking when you saw them?Monique: Yeah, I knew that they had gotten lost and so I had that hope in my head that they would stay lost! [Laughs] So Shawne would have more time to lasso that thing, but then he came and threw that thing on the first try. I was just sick to my stomach!

TVGuide.com: How long did it take for you to complete it?Shawne: I can't really say. It took awhile. Honestly, my focus was that I'm not leaving until I'm done.Monqiue: She didn't finish too long after Brent. I can't tell you how long, but it wasn't that much longer. I knew she probably threw that thing about 30 times.

TVGuide.com: Why did you decide to go with Horse Power for the Detour?Monique: We saw the giant compass and we saw teams looking confused. They just looked frustrated. We saw a shovel there. We just felt like Horse Power wouldn't be these coordinates [like in Horse Sense] and stuff like that, and we'd just have to do something with a horse. We thought it would've been a more doable task. Shawne: When we saw the horses, we thought we were going to ride the horses. Most tasks are small clues and you really are clueless. The land was so spread out that we couldn't see what was going to be done. The clue really gave us no indication.

Amazing Race's Dana and Adrian: We had a strategy  and didn't use it

TVGuide.com: You guys, Louie and Michael, and Brent and Caite all got to Horse Power at the same time. Did they follow you?Monique: [Louie and Michael] were following us. We left first and then they gave up [on Horse Sense] and came over. But we had caught up with them at that point, so that felt good.Shawne: Brent and Caite had gotten lost for a while. Monique is an excellent driver, so she was doing an awesome job and we had good directions.

TVGuide.com: Most teams had to do Horse Power a few times before finishing it. How difficult was it?Monique: The horse was heavy and then you had to coordinate the polo stick, which was heavy itself. You had to swing it all the way around. If you're taller, it was just hard to gauge when it would miss the ball. The ball was heavy, the polo stick was heavy, and then moving that horse back when you had to start over  that was back-breaking!Shawne: [Laughs] That's what I was waiting for you to say! That stupid wooden horse! We hated it! I've never loathed something so bad. It was awkward to lift. We felt it. You could see it on our faces. It probably weighed at least 70 pounds. ... We tried to be strategic. If it looked like our first two or three shots weren't going to make it, we started over.

TVGuide.com: Why didn't you change Detours earlier?Monique: We were determined. We know that Carol and Brandy did it. We're a strong girl-girl team. ... Since the tasks were so far from each other, we had to determine, looking over the horizon, OK, should we switch? ... Once Louie and Mike completed it, we were like, OK, it's late. So we decided to switch. That's the great thing about the Race. Some people may have an advantage whether you speak another language or you have more strength in terms of a male teammate, but things like luck and a bad cab ride make it a great equalizer.

Amazing Race's Jeff and Jordan: We fought a lot

TVGuide.com: How long did it take for you to do Horse Sense?Monique: We got through that very quickly. The fact that we switched and were able to do that compass thing quicker than anyone else was great. Jordan and Jeff were there for a long time and, as you saw, Mike and Louie found their bag for them. ... The challenge with the clue is that it's hard to pick what's best for you. We don't have any regrets. You just don't know what's best for you.Shawne: Hindsight is always 20/20. ... Afterward, we were thinking, "Gosh! We did that in 30 minutes!" We felt a sense of accomplishment, knowing that we went through two full tasks. And we completed a task that only one other team could do.

TVGuide.com: What are you up to now?Monique: We're moms. We have our own businesses and have to take care of our families. We're hoping to continue to inspire mothers and women all across the world. We've gotten so much great energy from our friends' kids, from kids all over, sending us messages, things like that. If we can find a way to continue to speak to moms, that's what we really want to do, live your life beyond the fullest you can imagine.Shawne: Our goal was definitely to inspire moms in particular, but we got a message from a dad. He said that he had a great discussion with his 11-year-old daughter after the show about how we were so positive. We weren't on TV fighting, criticizing, and it showed when our backs were up against the wall. ... He said it was such a great lesson for his daughter to see. As a dad, you inspire me, he wrote. We knew that it was such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but to hear the feedback from people  he said that was the most valuable thing he has seen thus far on the Race. I was just like, "Wow, that's awesome."

Trading Amazing Horses with Monique and Shawne of The Amazing Raceby Reg Seeton

With three legs now complete on The Amazing Race 16, The Amazing Race teams had to race their way through Chile en route to Argentina. This week saw the amazing mom/attorney team of Monique Pryor and Shawne Morgan hit the mat in last place to become the third duo to be eliminated from The Amazing Race after Monique got tied up in a lasso Roadblock that set them back behind the other Amazing Race teams.

Although Monique and Shawne gained ground, the two were put to the test with a choice between two different horse related tasks, "Horse Sense" and Horse Power", both of which required quick Amazing Race decisions, efficiency, and physical strength. Although Monique and Shawne didn't give up, it all came down to time and which Amazing Race team could get to the mat first in front of The Amazing Race host, Phil Keoghan.

The morning after the third leg of The Amazing Race, we jumped on the line with Monique and Shawne for a post Amazing Race update on their experience and journey on The Amazing Race.

THE DEADBOLT: Was it awkward watching yourselves on TV?

MONIQUE PRYOR: At the beginning it was awkward. We were looking for ourselves a little more but it was awesome. [laughs] We were happy to see it. Actually, it was pretty funny, because we knew what we were thinking at that moment. Then to have everybody on pins and needles waiting to see what happened and getting texts, people updating their Facebook status with "Why couldn't you guys last longer?", that was pretty awesome watching it with our families again. It was great.

THE DEADBOLT: So what was going through your minds during the lasso task?

SHAWNE MORGAN: Lord, please let me do this. I was thinking I didn't want to lose focus, that's why I was just calm and I could just hear Monique. I could hear her and she's like, "What do you want me to do?" And I'm like, "Just pray with me." That's after being out there for awhile, watching teams come and go, but I didn't want to lose focus. I think throughout the race, it's just like we have to run our own race and we can't let other things distract you, like, "Oh gosh, what time is it? How long?" or start panicking.

I was just like, "We're going to do it. I don't care how long it takes, we are making this happen." But after I did do it, to see that once we got to the detour to see that so many of the other teams were still there, that was the nature of the race. At any moment you can catch up and we saw that throughout the race. So you know people were like, "Oh, we were done." But like at any moment that just running it, we saw how you could catch up and still be in the race. That's why it was important for us to just continue to hustle the entire race while we were in it.

THE DEADBOLT: Do you think the rope challenge gave an unfair advantage to the cowboys?

MONIQUE: [laughs] My eight year old daughter thinks so. She said, "Mom, it's not fair. They lasso every day, it wasn't fair." What I told her is that everybody comes to the race with some advantage. Brandy could speak fluent Spanish and I ran track. So I knew if there was a sprint challenge, I was going to be the first person there, especially after I sized up the teams. Shawne has great upper body strength, so you come to the race with certain advantages and the cowboys lucked out.

THE DEADBOLT: Would you say that was the turning point for you guys, or was it something else?

SHAWNE: No, because we knew we were still in the race. And after that, we were out in the field. More so, as we were doing the horse challenge with those wooden horses, they were so awkward and heavy. To have to carry it back - you had nine chances to get it between the goals - and we're like, "Okay, no need in tiring ourselves out at six if you know you're not even close. Let's be strategic about this and take it back each time." So we thought we weren't going to be close enough. Physically, that was very grueling. But at some point, we were just like, "Wait a minute, the sun is going down. It's cold. Let's try to move to the next challenge and at least give it a try." We wanted to make sure we gave it a try. We didn't give up. That was so key for us throughout this experience, we were not giving up without a fight.

THE DEADBOLT: If you had won with "Horse Power" first, do you think it would've made a difference?

MONIQUE: The clues are so vague and you're not sure what you're choosing. In particular, for this challenge, the challenges were so far apart that it was hard to tell exactly what we were doing. But Shawne and I knew we were in the race to experience it as well. So we saw the horse thing and we thought, "Oh great, we're going to ride a horse." We had dealt with the Llamas and now we're going to ride a horse. So that was exciting as well and we didn't want any one team to have an advantage over us. So that's why we chose "Horse Power". We didn't know we had to walk a mile in cow dung to get there, but that's why we chose that one.

THE DEADBOLT: At what point did you guys know it was over?

SHAWNE: Never, until we walked up to the mat. If you look at my face, I'm thinking, "No, no, no, no," because you can never tell with Phil. So I'm thinking, "Hey, maybe this is a non-elimination." We kept hustling and, like we said, we weren't giving up. So, we're like, "This is still our race. We can still be in it." We knew even before we started the race, we are not giving up. It was just one of those things and it happened to be an elimination leg. But we were proud of ourselves for not quitting, that was key for us.

THE DEADBOLT: So what did that teach you both? Was that the message you took away?

SHAWNE: It taught us about who we wanted to inspire, our children. That was first and foremost. We were like, "Oh my gosh, we can't wait for them to see this," because we wanted them to see, "Hey, at least try and do something different." That was the big key message. I do a lot of mentoring with other moms in terms of growing an "at home" business. Monique is also partnered with moms, she has an online magazine for moms. So our thing was that we wanted to continue to inspire women, particularly moms, to know that, "You know what? We're moms but we can still have our lives and we can have businesses and we're attorneys second.

Our thing was, let's step outside of the box. I enjoy practicing mom but now let's do something else. We're like, "Hey, we had to take a risk to start a business and then to start another business." I was thinking about what else could we do next. When we saw the race, that's what it meant for us. We were like, "However far we go on this race, let us at least be inspirational to somebody." To see that we got it is so very awesome. I'm just so humbled by the positive comments. Not just from moms who were like, "You guys have shown us we can definitely do the things we thought about putting on the back burner. Why not today?" So that's been awesome. From dads, that's been great to hear how they've been able to relate with their families. That's been a great experience.

THE DEADBOLT: Was there anything we didn't see that you guys wished got aired?

SHAWNE: Yes, that the travel time was just huge. Not only travel but running, too. There were some points where people would see us huffing and puffing but they didn't see the scene before where we were actually running through woods or rough terrain. We ran two miles with a heavy backpack on and we were running up hills. And the fact that Monique and I had a lot on point, where people were like, "We don't see you." Interestingly enough, we had moments where we were leading and showing others where to go. So that was awesome. We're just proud that we were able to endure it. That was huge. The running I think was the thing I'd definitely say they should have shown more of.

After reading a few of Monique & Shawne's interviews, I'm surprised that I haven't seen anybody ask them about how close one of them came to getting kicked in the face by a cow or about the earthquake in Chile.

Another bad way to end your run on The Amazing Race: get stuck in a particular task and see every other team pass by you. That's what happened to "mompreneurs" Monique and Shawne: they got stuck in the Roadblock in Argentina. But, in their usual fashion, they never lost hope, and finished the rest of the tasks without grumbling or arguing. That gets a plus point for me.

I figured you do a lot when you're a mompreneur, so it took me a while to talk to Monique and Shawne--but finally, we got to talk about their run on the race, their childrens' reactions, and that Roadblock.

First off, how and when did you meet?

Shawne: We met in college in 1990. We were in the same sorority.

How did it feel being in second place during the first leg? Surely you didn't see that coming...

Shawne: We knew we were in the top group because we could see when we arrived at the right houses that there were other teams that arrived before us, that couldn't find their house to paint. What you didn't see on TV is, we had a pretty good lead at various points of the race.

Monique: Before our cab driver got us lost we knew we were in about fifth place. What you didn't see was everyone trying to follow us.

Shawne, how long did it take you to finish the Roadblock?

Shawne: I can't say how much time it actually took me to do the lasso because I was just focused on completing it, whatever it took. My main goal was never to focus on the other teams because I didn't want to get distracted.

Monique, you seemed helpless after watching Shawne struggle with the lasso...

Monique: I did feel helpless, but I was so proud of Shawne. She was so focused and did not get rattled. She never let them see her sweat. I was so proud of her.

Despite the delay in Argentina, you both still ran a pretty solid race. What do you think did you do differently?

Monique: It's hard to say what we could've done differently. What many do not realize is that the game is part mental. Who knows, if we would've chosen horse sense first we may have gotten confused like the other teams did.

Another thing that struck me the most was your strong faith, as seen in both the cable walking and lasso-throwing tasks. How did your faith power you through the race?

Monique: Shawne and I constantly relied on our faith to get us through. There were so many acts of God's intervention that you didn't see. Each time we came to a place we needed direction we asked God for his help.

Shawne: There were other times when we had "little angels" helping us in various cities, like Chile (we are still praying for the people there) and we had these lambs on Isla Margarita that really led us to the clue box the entire way--that was beautiful!

Monique: When we arrived at the paint challenge and saw the other teams walking around for hours, we asked God to send us a sign, to lead us in the right direction. Right after the prayer, this tourist couple walks towards us and told us exactly where to go. We had to follow a trail to find the clue to get to the llamas. Once again, we said, "Lord, show us the way." That's when a herd of sheep led us directly to the clue box. They actually looked back at us as if to say, "hurry up and follow us!"

Shawne: With all the running, weather and driving conditions we knew it was God that led us. Even though we didn't win the race we are already seeing the positive effects of us being on the race. We received so many emails, calls and messages from other people who have commented on how positive we carried ourselves and constantly encouraged one another even when it got hard. While we wanted to inspire moms and others to challenge themselves, it's been really inspiring to me to continue to move forward to help other women and families who are looking to earn additional income through my wellness business.

Did you get a chance to bond with the other teams?

Shawne: We bonded with Jordan and Dan, Mike and Louie--we formed the East Coast Alliance. We had fun times sharing together! We also bonded with others like Steve and Allie, we got along with everyone and enjoyed hearing people's stories. The ECA definitely formed a connection!

I'm sure your children watched the race with you. What were their reactions after seeing what you did in those three legs?

Shawne: Our kids absolutely loved it! We all watched the race together as a family on Sunday nights, so they were so excited about their mommies being on, and they are so proud of us!

Monique: My children love The Amazing Race. They often play with their dad in the back seat of the truck saying "go Daddy go!", pretending we are in The Amazing Race. They were so excited to see their mom on TV. They received a lot of attention from other kids at school. While watching the third episode my four-year-old was so upset that we were losing. She said, "mommy, I liked the show when you came in second, better than this one."

What was your favorite part of the race?

Shawne: Seeing all the beautiful countries and seeing all the beautiful people in different countries who were so excited about us running through their neighborhoods and so ready to assist us, knowing that we are amongst a very select group chosen to run this race. It's been an awesome, once in a lifetime opportunity!

Monique: Although I was doing the race to fulfill a dream, a main goal of ours was to be able to inspire other mothers to continue reaching for their goals. As mothers, we sometimes put our families before ourselves and we want mothers to remember the women they were before they became mothers: vivacious and fun-loving and adventurous.

What have you been up to after the race?

Monique: I continue to be a voice for working women. I have an online magazine for working mothers called momsextraordinaire.com. There, we act as a resource for working mothers who advise on everything from their next career to the best diapers and where is the next sale on a pair of Prada shoes.

Shawne: I'm still running my business--my hair business is keeping me busy, especially with all the exposure from TV and my wellness business has also picked up since I team up with other moms to help them earn income from home.